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I know OCD and OCD symptoms are very common with tourettes, but I've only dealt with it very minorly in the past. I have an anxiety disorder, but it's all been pretty standard stuff.

but over the last few months, I've been like. kind of freaking out? and I'm developing more symptoms that are associated with OCD and it's fucking scaring me.

idk what to do, I can't handle my own head. I'm constantly spiralling about fucking everything and I'm so damn tired. I can't get out of my own head. I've become obsessed with the number two, like. I'm convinced seeing things in pairs or doing things in pairs is some sort of omen or good luck charm.

not pictured: my water bottle, which has a carabineer so that I can hook it to the bag strap.

bag contents below:

genuinely. last time I got tics this bad, my. FND flared a few days later. I guess I'll have to monitor my tics, keep taking my meds, and call my doctor as soon as I can.

god fuck.

first of all. I'm against fake claiming in general. you have no idea what people's situations or lives look like. you have no right to tell them what medical conditions they do or don't have. but. let's lay out some reasons why you may have seen a lot more people with tics then vs now.

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- firstly. it was 'trending'. if you were seeking out people with tics to gawk at. you were going to see them.

- talking about tics brings them out. people were making videos and content about their ts/tics, and so naturally, they were ticcing in those videos. that does not mean that they must tic all of the time in order for them to have tics.

- I spent years trying medications, waiting to see a neurologist. getting on different doses, etc. before I found something that works. when I'm on my meds, I usually don't tic hardly at all. that very well could be the case for some of these people as well.

- tic disorders wax and wane. it's a well known part of the disorders. tics can be bad for a while, and then almost non-existent for a while. and then come back. it's normal.

- tics also tend to get worse in times of high stress and anxiety (global pandemic??!)

- tourettes is not the only tic disorder. the options aren't only. tourettes or faker. there is such thing as transient/provisional tic disorder, which is a very real tic disorder that lasts for less than a year. there are also other causes of tics such as fnd.

- it's a well known phenomenon that people's tics sometimes improve in adulthood. it doesn't mean that they were faking before. it just means that they got a lucky break.

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fake claiming is gross, and this mindset only does harm to the tic disorder community. it's ableist and ignorant to assume someone is faking just because you're uneducated and think that you know more than the person who actually has the disorder.